Patent Absurdity

Richard Stallman's article on the difference between patents and copyright for software users and developers appears in the Guardian.

In Patent Absurdity, Stallman discusses the impact of software patents by using literary patents as an example. Next month, the European Parliament will vote on the issue of whether to allow patents covering software, so now is an especially important time to share information about their dangers.

If patent law had been applied to novels in the 1880s, great books would not have been written. If the EU applies it to software, every computer user will be restricted...

Update 2010

Patent Absurdity is also the name of a short film, by Luca Lucarini made with the assistance of a grant from the FSF.